Black Widow: After the Fall
by hchang3
Summary: After Black Widow makes the sacrifice, she finds her new beginning in a friendly but unfamiliar neighborhood.


Black Widow: After the Fall

Part 1: Black Widow Had Left A Will

Barton,

If you're reading this, I've finally erased all the red in my ledger. Finally.

Five years was a long time. Steve would stop by with his relentless optimism, but I could barely keep up. Try to move on, we could think of it as a second chance… But the team was my only family. _You_ were my second chance.

Rhody and I tried to keep a tab on you. I heard about Laura and the kids and … I knew we had to find you. And when we did, I don't know why I couldn't come get you right away. Could Rhody be right? Aren't you the same Clint that used to make dry jokes even as we're fighting against each other? By the way, I appreciated you holding punches at the airport but gotta tell you, it was worse taking the hit from Wanda. She used to carry the guilt around like it was an invisible cloak but it wasn't very invisible. The death of Sokovians, people in Lagos and of course her brother. Who could blame her for not being able to destroy Vision before Thanos? Then again, between you and me, don't you ever wonder why she couldn't have won every battle with the flick of her hands? She's capable of destroying an infinity stone _while_ fighting Thanos. If she were here, I would've liked to see her against Danvers. Danvers, they call her "Captain Marvel," is one of us, from Earth—by the way, who would've thought we'd be sharing an office with an engineered raccoon—his name is Rocket, one of the Guardians of the Galaxy, actually the only one left after Thanos—and planning time travel into different universes. A long way from Budapest, eh? I miss the old times when our biggest concern was just one infinity stone and aliens through just one wormhole. Top that with some shawarmas.

I'm glad you had your time with your family before … Thanos. But I also wish you were here after the big fight. We saw a lot of crazy in New York then with Ultron. But Wakanda? Even before Thanos's invasion Wakanda was a sight to see. You would've liked the world untouched and hidden behind the woods. The women are fierce and respected. They're trained hard but without deception … I'm glad you're here now. I'm glad it's you I'm going to Vormir with. Nebula's story about the death of her sister when Thanos retrieved the Soul Stone. It makes sense. It will make sense for you too.

There was a lot of time to wonder about the ifs. The many ifs. If we'd known about Wakanda and what they're capable of, could we have created the perfect Ultron? With Ultron perfected could we have prevented Thanos? If I'd run away with Banner in Sokovia, could I've had a happily settled life? Life with an ill-tempered green monster. Imagine that.

Part 2: Black Widow's New Beginning After the End

Natasha woke up in a cold and dark place. Is this the scent of death? Afterlife? It actually smells like overripe bananas … and pickles? Why can't I see anything?

"AAH. LOOK WHO'S UP. HEY MISSIE, TIME TO GET U-UP!"

Over the sound of clanking metal and the whirring fan was a voice that was more a large growl than a shout. Natasha's instinct was to jump up and get into combat mode but _bang! _ As she lunged to get up she hit her head on the low hanging excuse of a chandelier. What is going on? Am I on another planet? Is this the trick of the Reality Stone? Or is _this_ Thanos' idea of a new world worthy of all bloodshed? What stood in front of her was shabby green monster with thick brown eye brows, bulging eyes, no nose or teeth and definitely no clothes.

"HELLOOOOO, DIDN'T YOU HEAR WHAT I JUST SAID? I SAID GET UP. AND SCRAM!"

"Who are you? And what planet is this?" Though she refused to let the grouchy monster out of her sight, Natasha cautiously opened her fists and felt her face. She wanted to make sure that she herself hasn't turned into a furry monster.

"WHAT PLANET? YOU'RE TELLING ME YOU'VE NEVER BEEN TO NEW YORK BEFORE?!"

New York? Thank goodness! They've managed to bring back the others! And plus some.

"HEY MISSIE. I DON'T KNOW HOW YOU FELL INTO MY CRUSTY ABODE, BUT IF THOSE GOODY TWO SHOES NEW YORKERS ARE WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR, BE MY GUEST. BUT DON'T THINK FOR A MINUTE THAT I'M LETTING YOU GO WITHOUT PAYING YOUR DUES. I'LL TAKE THAT WRIST BAND OF YOURS, THANK YOU VERY MUCH."

Wha? Goody two shoes New Yorkers? My broken Widow's Bite?

"THAT BRACELET GAVE ME A SHOCK WHEN I STUMBLED OVER YOU EARLIER. SEE THAT'S WHAT I GET FOR BEING SO NICE AND LETTING YOU TAKE MY FLOOR. ANYWAY, THAT WILL BE PERFECT FOR MY DOOR BELL. GIVE MY VISITORS AN EXTRA WELCOME WHEN THEY COME TO BOTHER ME. EHEHEHEHEHE."

"This won't work. It was damaged in the fall…"

"EGH. ALL THE BETTER. I LOVE TRASH."

Eager to get back to the real world among real people, Natasha looks around for a door or a window. "Can you just show me how to get out of here?"

"LEAVING SO SOON? I GUESS THERE'S NO SENSE IN WASTING MY CHARM ON YOU. THE WAY OUT'S UP THERE."

Maybe the coms will still work once I'm above ground.

Natasha feels awkward when she realizes she's climbing out of a trash can, but she's more stunned by the sight of New York outside of the grimy trash can. The brownstones look familiar, but it's eerily clean and well landscaped. There are leaves on the ground but no trash. She thinks she sees a giant bird's nest behind a fence. But most of all, where are the people? Which part of Manhattan is 123 Sesame Street?

Something's off. It's daytime, but Natasha can't find the sun or any shadow to see which direction points north or east. Coms haven't picked up any signal either. She's on her own until she runs into another furry creature: also big eyes with no nose, teeth or clothes but this one is blue.

Part 3: Black Widow Helps Explain the Word of the Day

Cookie monster (CM): YOU NATASHA, DAUGHTER OF IVAN.

Black Widow (BW): Wha…

CM: ME COOKIE MONSTER.

(Natasha's guards are up.)

BW: What do you want.

CM: ME HERE TO TALK ABOUT THE WORD OF THE DAY. AND YOU CAN HELP ME. YA YA YA.

(But as Cookie Monster speaks, he faces not in Natasha's direction but toward an invisible camera.)

BW: I don't know what you're doing.

CM: THAT IT! YOU ALREADY HELP ME EXPLAIN WORD OF THE DAY! YOU DOING GREAT! YEAH.

(Cookie Monster still nods toward an invisible camera.)

BW: Where are you looking?

CM: WE EXPLAIN TO AUDIENCE WORD OF THE DAY!

BW: I'm confused.

CM: EXACTLY. TODAY'S WORD OF THE DAY! "CONFUSED"!

BW: …

(Natasha isn't sure which is more confusing: this monster's loose use of grammar or his constantly jiggling eyes when he wildly nods his head.)

CM: ME EXPLAIN TO YOU AND AUDIENCE WHAT WORD "CONFUSED" MEANS. YES.

(Natasha waits but Cookie Monster is also silent staring blankly toward the still invisible camera.)

BW: You said you would explain what "confused" means to…the audience?

CM: AH YES! BUT ME NOT KNOW HOW TO EXPLAIN IN WORDS SO ME SHOW THE MEANING. YOU CONFUSED AND YOU QUIET.

BW: But "confused" doesn't mean being quiet. I'm quiet because I'm…confused…but that doesn't mean that being "confused" means being quiet.

CM: THEN WHAT "CONFUSED" MEAN?

BW: "Confused" means when you're perplexed.

CM: WE CHILDREN'S TELEVISION. PLEASE USE EASY LANGUAGE.

(Now Natasha stares blankly at the invisible camera.)

BW: We say we are "confused" when we're not sure about something.

CM: GOOD ONE. AND WHEN WE NOT KNOW HOW TO THINK.

BW: Right! And even when we don't know how to feel. We say that we are "confused."

CM: RIGHT RIGHT. THEN BLACK WIDOW, WHY YOU SO CONFUSED?

BW: I'm confused because I thought I lost my friends and then woke up in a trash can …

CM: RIGHT. THAT OSCAR!

BW: OK. Then I was happy I was in New York but this New York is different from the one I knew.

CM: OH SO YOU HAVE MANY MANY FEELINGS AT ONCE! THAT TOO IS "CONFUSED"!

BW: Right, this might be the most confused I've ever been…

(Natasha breaks down in tears.)

CM: OH NOW NOW. YOU FEEL SO CONFUSED YOU CRY. WE FINISH EXPLAINING WORD OF THE DAY.

(Cookie Monster makes the cut sign toward the camera.)

BW: I don't know where I am. I don't know who you are. This is a nightmare.

CM: WE NOT NIGHTMARE. WE SESAME STREET. THIS WHERE AIR IS SWEET. WHERE FRIENDLY NEIGHBORS MEET. HERE FOLLOW ME. ME GUIDE YOU TO OUR FRIENDLY NEIGHBORS.

(And Natasha feels a slight sense of comfort as Cookie Monster aggressively pulls her arm down the cobble stone street.)


End file.
